'Aer Lingus' is the national
airline of the
Republic of Ireland. Based in
Dublin, it operates 41 Airbus aircraft serving
Europe,
Africa,
North America and the
Middle East. The airline is 28% owned by the
Irish government; it was floated on the Dublin and London Stock Exchanges on
2 October 2006, following prior government approval (the government previously owned 85% of the airline). Aer Lingus is a former member of the
Oneworld airline alliance, which it left on March 31, 2007.
[1] The company employs 4,000 people and has revenue of €1,115.8 million as of 2006. Its slogan is ''Aer Lingus, reaching for new heights''. Aer Lingus transferred 8.6 million passengers in 2006. Aer Lingus has its own frequent flyer programme, the
Gold Circle Club programme, featuring three tiers - Gold, Prestige and Elite.
History
Early years
Aer Lingus Teoranta was registered as an airline on
22 May 1936, as a joint venture with Blackpool and West Coast Air Services.
[2] The name, ''Aer Lingus'' is an
anglicisation of the
Irish form ''Aer Loingeas'' which means Air Fleet (as does
Aeroflot). The name was originally proposed by Richard F O'Connor, who was Cork County Surveyor at the time, and an aviation enthusiast. Five days after being founded the airline opened its first service between
Baldonnel Airfield in Dublin and
Bristol,
England, using a six-seater
De Havilland 84 Dragon (registration EI-ABA)
(Photo) biplane which was named ''Iolar'' (Eagle). The service was operated under the title Irish Sea Airways.
Later that year, the airline acquired its second aircraft, a De Havilland 86 Express, a four engined biplane with a capacity of 14 passengers.
The airline was established as the national carrier under the Air Navigation and Transport Act (1936).
In
1937, the Irish government created Aer Rianta (now called
Dublin Airport Authority), a company to assume financial responsibility for the new airline and the entire country's civil aviation infrastructure. In 1938 ''Iolar'' was replaced by a
de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide and a second DH86B was also purchased. Two
Lockheed L-14s arrived in 1939, Aer Lingus' first all-metal aircraft.
In January
1940, a new airport was completed in the Dublin suburb of
Collinstown and Aer Lingus moved their operations there. A new
DC-3 was bought and new services to
Liverpool and an internal service to
Shannon were inaugurated. The airline's services were curtailed during
World War II with the sole route being to Liverpool or Manchester (Barton) depending on the fluctuating security situation.
Post-war expansion
On
9 November 1945, regular services were resumed with an inaugural flight to
London. From this point on Aer Lingus planes were painted in a silver and green livery, and the airline's first flight attendants were introduced. In 1946, a new Anglo-Irish agreement gave Aer Lingus exclusive UK traffic rights in exchange for a 40% holding by
British Overseas Airways Corporation and
British European Airways (BEA). Because of Aer Lingus' growth the airline bought seven new
Vickers Viking planes in 1947, however, these proved to be uneconomical and were soon sold.
In 1947,
AerlÃnte Éireann came into existence with the purpose of operating transatlantic flights to
New York from
Ireland. Three new
Lockheed Constellations were ordered but a financial crisis prevented the service from starting. The Constellations were then sold to
BOAC and the transatlantic service was put on hold. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, Aer Lingus introduced new routes to
Brussels,
Amsterdam and
Rome. Because of the expanding route structure the airline became one of the first to order
Vickers Viscount 707s in 1951. In 1956, Aer Lingus introduced a new, green-top livery with a white lighting flash down the windows and the Irish flag displayed on each plane's fin.
First transatlantic service
Aer Lingus used the
Carvair automobile freighter with little economic success.
On
28 April 1958, AerlÃnte Éireann operated the first transatlantic service from Shannon to New York. Three
Lockheed Super Constellations were used for the thrice-weekly service. The aircraft were leased from the American airline
Seaboard and Western while Irish cabin crews were used. This arrangement continued until
1 January 1960 when AerlÃnte Éireann was renamed Aer Lingus - Irish International Airlines. Aer Lingus entered the jet-age on
14 December 1960 when three
Boeing 720s were delivered for use on the New York route, as well as for the newest Aer Lingus destination,
Boston.
In 1963, Aer Lingus added
Carvairs to the fleet. With this aircraft, five cars could be transported by loading them into the fuselage through the nose of the plane. The Carvair proved to be uneconomic for the airline, partly due to the rise of car ferry services by sea and the aircraft were then used for freight services until disposed of. The
Boeing 720s proved to be a success for the airline on the transatlantic routes. In 1964, Aer Lingus took delivery of the larger
Boeing 707.
Jet aircraft
Conversion of the European fleet to jet equipment began in 1965 when the
BAC 1-11 started services from
Dublin and
Cork to
Paris and via
Manchester to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Dusseldorf and Frankfurt. A new livery was adopted in the same year, with a large white
shamrock on the fin and titles of ''Aer Lingus-Irish International'' just above the plane's windows. In 1966, the remainder of the company's shares held by
Aer Rianta were transferred to the
Minister for Finance.
In 1966, the route from Shannon to
Montreal and onward to
Chicago was inaugurated.
In 1968, flights from
Belfast in
Northern Ireland to New York were started. The service was soon suspended due to the beginning of
the Troubles in the area. 1969 saw the introduction of
Boeing 737s to the Aer Lingus fleet to cope with the high demand for flights between the cities of
Dublin and
London. Aer Lingus later extended the 737 flights to all of their
European network.
1970s to 1990s
In 1970, Aer Lingus took delivery of two
Boeing 747s for use on the transatlantic routes. A third was later added to the fleet but one was leased out because it was not profitable at first for the company to fly 747s across the
Atlantic Ocean. In 1974, a new livery was unveiled and the word ''International'' disappeared from the fuselage titles on Aer Lingus planes. The livery included two different colors of blue and one green, plus the white shamrock on the tail/fin.
In September 1979, Aer Lingus became the first airline other than
Alitalia to be used by
Pope John Paul II. The pontiff flew aboard a specially modified Boeing 747 (EI-ASI or St. Patrick) from
Rome to Dublin and later from Shannon to
Boston. In the early 1980s the 707s were phased out.
In 1984, a fully-owned subsidiary, ''Aer Lingus Commuter'', was formed so that Aer Lingus could fly to larger cities in Ireland and Britain whose flying time from Dublin did not require jet planes. These services were operated primarily by five of the Belfast-built
Shorts 360 after conducting a trial with the
Shorts 330. Around this time Aer Lingus purchased a majority sharehold in the
cargo airline Aer Turas, owner of some
DC-8 freighter jets.
Between 1987 and 1989, new
Boeing 737s arrived to replace the older ones, and 6
Fokker F50s were added to the ''Commuter'' fleet. During 1990, after the passage of the deregulation act for the airline industry in Ireland, Aer Lingus had to reconsider its operational policies. The
BAC 1-11s were retired and 5 new 737s arrived. In 1991, 4
Saab 340Bs arrived at the commuter division to replace the
Shorts 360 planes. By 1992 Aer Lingus's entire original 737-200 fleet had been replaced and was now the first operator in the world of all three versions of the second generation 737. These were the -300, -400 and -500 series, although the -300 did not last long in Aer Lingus service.
Airbus operations
In 1994, Aer Lingus started direct services between Dublin and the United States using the
Airbus A330 and in May of that year Aer Lingus operated the first
A330 ETOPS service on the
North Atlantic route. This led to the phasing out of the
Boeing 747 and the briefly operated
Boeing 767-300ER. On
2 October 1995, the Boeing 747 service ceased operations after twenty-five years of service. By that time, over 8 million people had travelled across the Atlantic in Aer Lingus Boeing 747s. The late 1990s saw Aer Lingus return to
Belfast with a service to New York via Shannon.
Newark International Airport in
New Jersey was also added as a destination. Since then these flights have been suspended.
On
1 February 2001, Aer Lingus Commuter was merged back into the mainline operation. Following the attacks on
11 September 2001 Aer Lingus' business was severely reduced. Staff numbers were cut, destinations were dropped and the fleet was reduced. The airline has since weathered the storm and is back in profit - this has largely been achieved through a strategy of lowering the airline's cost base, updating the fleet with modern
Airbus equipment and developing new routes to mainland European destinations (Aer Lingus had previously largely neglected mainland Europe in favour of US and British destinations). They are currently positioning themselves as competition to the European
no-frills airlines, such as
Ryanair,
easyJet,
Volare and
Germanwings, while offering intercontinental flights as well. Business class travel and cargo provisions for short haul flights have both been phased out.
On
27 October 2005, Aer Lingus announced their first scheduled service to Asia from March 2006 as
Dubai International Airport in the
United Arab Emirates, where Chief Executive
Dermot Mannion was based when at
Emirates.
[3] Despite the Aer Lingus press release describing it as the first long haul service outside the United States, there had in fact been a previous service to
Montreal,
Canada from 1966-1979. The
great circle distance of 5926 kilometres (3682 miles) is comparable to the current service to
Chicago but
Los Angeles remains Aer Lingus' longest route at 8338 kilometers (5181 miles). At the same time Mr. Mannion linked
the funding of new long haul aircraft to replace the A330 fleet with the privatisation of the airline.
On
29 October 2005, Aer Lingus withdrew its last two
Boeing 737 aircraft from service. EI-CDH (a 737-500) operated the last sectors from Dublin to
Nice,
France and back. The aircraft and its sister ship EI-CDG now operate for
Rossiya in
Russia. This marks the end of Boeing content within Aer Lingus' fleet.
On 6th June Aer Lingus strengthened its relationship with the European manufacturer by ordering 6 of the new A350XWB as well as 6 A330-300E aircraft. These will be used to expand Aer Lingus' long haul operations as well as replacement aircraft for 3 older models. Deliveries of the A330E will begin in 2009 and the A350XWB will begin in 2014.
Flotation
In preparation for the commercial flotation of Aer Lingus on the Dublin stock market, the Irish government agreed to abolish the
Shannon stopover from the end of 2006 in stages. Aer Lingus currently fly to
Boston,
Chicago,
Los Angeles, and
New York City;
[4] and in late 2005, were reported to be planning at least four new US routes from Dublin, with
Dallas,
Miami,
Philadelphia and
San Francisco under consideration.
[5]
The company began conditional (or "grey-market") share dealings on
27 September 2006 and was formally admitted to the Official Lists of the
Irish Stock Exchange and
London Stock Exchange on
2 October 2006. At the time of the flotation the Irish government maintained a 28% shareholding, while employees held 15%.
Aer Lingus withdrew from the Oneworld airline alliance on
1 April 2007, however it intends to maintain strong bilateral links with various Oneworld members and has no intention of joining any other global alliance. On
19 November 2006, Aer Lingus declared that it would shortly announce agreements with
American Airlines,
Cathay Pacific and
Qantas. However negotiations with
British Airways have yet to be concluded. The decision to leave the alliance was due to Aer Lingus repositioning itself as a low-fares point to point carrier, which is at odds with Oneworld's pitch to the premium international frequent flyer, and the cost involved for Aer Lingus with the acceptance of new members to the alliance.
On
6 February 2007, however, the airline announced its intention to form a new alliance with
JetBlue Airways. This new alliance will be a weblink between the two airlines, meaning Aer Lingus customers will be able to book JetBlue destinations from the Aer Lingus website, and vice versa for JetBlue for customers.
With the flotation of Aer Lingus on the stock exchange, Aer Lingus is planning to expand its route network. New destinations to Europe and North America are planned, and further destinations to Asia also.
Ryanair takeover bid
On
5 October 2006,
Ryanair launched a €1.48bn bid to buy Aer Lingus. Ryanair CEO
Michael O'Leary said the move was a ''"unique opportunity"'' to form an Irish airline. The "new" airline would carry over 50 million passengers a year. Ryanair said it had bought a 16% stake in Aer Lingus and was offering €2.80 per share for remaining shares.
[6] On the same day Aer Lingus rejected Ryanair's takeover bid.
[7] On
5 October 2006, Ryanair confirmed it had raised its stake to 19.2%, and said it had no problem in the Irish Government keeping its 28.3%. There were also reports in the
Irish Times that the Government would possibly seek judgement from the courts, and referral to competition authorities in Dublin - although this would be automatic under European regulation, as the combined group would control 78% of the Dublin - London passenger air traffic.
[8]
The Aer Lingus logo on an Airbus A330 winglet.
On
29 November 2006, Ryanair confirmed it had taken its stake to 26.2% of the airline.
[9]
On
21 December 2006, Ryanair announced it was withdrawing its current bid for Aer Lingus, with the intent of pursuing another bid in the near future after the
European Commission finishes investigating the current bid. The EC has been concerned that the takeover would reduce consumer choice and increase fares.
[10]
On
27 June 2007, the European Commission announced their decision to block the bid on competition grounds saying the two airlines controlled more than 80% of all European flights to and from Dublin airport.
[11]
Cross Border expansion
On
7 August 2007 the airline announced that it was to establish its first base outside the
Republic of Ireland at
Belfast International Airport in
Northern Ireland. Services from Belfast International will commence in December 2007, and by February 2008 the airline will have three
Airbus A320 aircraft based at the airport which will serve eight European destinations. Significantly, this move restores the Belfast International to
London Heathrow link, and will cooperate with its codeshare partner
British Airways on this route to connect with
British Airways' network from Heathrow. There will also be a route to Amsterdam to connect with the network of
KLM. The airline expects this move to add one million additional passengers annually.
[12][13]
Open Skies
On
22 March 2007, as a result of the
Open Skies Agreement, Aer Lingus announced three new long-haul services to the United States. From Autumn 2007, It will commence direct flights to
Orlando International (Starts
30 October 2007 - 3x weekly),
San Francisco (Starts
28 October 2007 - 4x weekly) and
Washington D.C.-Dulles(Starts 6 August 2007 - 4x weekly). These services will be facilitated by the arrival of two new
Airbus A330 aircraft in May 2007. The airline already serves
Boston Logan Airport,
Chicago, New York
JFK Airport and
Los Angeles
Destinations
Main articles: Aer Lingus destinations
Routes
Aer Lingus recently announced plans for expansion in the long-haul programme. Its long-haul division serves Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Washington and Dubai.
By May 2007, the company will have acquired two new Airbus A330s. One A330-200 and one A330-300X, increasing the long haul fleet to nine aircraft.
They will add 26 flights each week providing a 28% boost to Aer Lingus' long haul capacity and bringing to 120 the total number of long haul flights which will be operated weekly by the airline to the US and Middle East.
On
22 March 2007, The European Union and the U.S signed the "open skies" agreement, de-regulating North Atlantic air travel and allowing European airlines to fly into any American city and vice-versa for American airlines. The new agreement will come into full effect in March 2008. As a result, Aer Lingus announced from Autumn 2007, new long-haul services to Orlando, operating 3 times per week from 27 October, San Francisco, operating four times per week from 28 October and Washington-Dulles, operating four times per week from 6 August. It will also announce more long-haul routes once an order for 14 new long-haul aircraft have been made with either Airbus or Boeing. A recent article in the
Irish Examiner shows the airline also wants to expand its US network to include further destinations along the East Coast during 2008.
Aer Lingus also has an extensive short-haul European network with 74 destinations, although some of these are only offered on a seasonal basis. Aer Lingus recently commenced services from Dublin to Santiago de Compostela and Vilnius, as well as two new services from Cork to Manchester and Nice. Aer Lingus also announced a new service from Dublin to Athens which will commence in June 2007, as well as 5 new routes for Winter 2007 from Dublin to Copenhagen, Helsinki, Bucharest, Funchal, and Agadir. For this planned expansion, the company ordered two new Airbus A320 for purchase (due for delivery in May and June 2007) as well as two similar aircraft on a lease basis which will be delivered later in the year.
Its European network has been designed to compete with low-frills budget airline, Ryanair. It has only one cabin class in its short-haul fleet and passengers must pay for baggage carried in the hold. If passengers pre-book their baggage while reserving flights online they will incur a €5 each-way charge per bag (€10 per bag for return flight). However, if passengers arrive for check-in at the airport without hold baggage pre-booked they will incur an €8 charge per bag each way.
Aer Lingus, Ryanair and BmiBaby recently announced increased baggage fees without publicly notifying passengers which has caused furore with passengers and consumer associations in Ireland and the U.K. Aer Lingus only introduced baggage charges in January. However, Aer Lingus states that its checked baggage charges are still amongst the lowest in the short-haul low-cost airline market.
On
12 July 2007 Aer Lingus announced it will reinstate the Dublin to
London Gatwick route from October 2007 with up to four flights daily. The route, which was dropped in 2003 under Aer Lingus's restructuring programme, will complement the existing frequencies to
London Heathrow (which has up to thirteen flights daily).
On the
7th August Aer Lingus announced that it would be ceasing flights between Shannon and Heathrow from January 2008. It has sparked a large controversy in the media, and with the general public. Aer Lingus also announced that they would be establishing a new base at
Belfast International with 3 aircraft to be based there, and confirmed new routes as part of the announcement including Belfast-Heathrow, for which Shannon-Heathrow was dropped, and Belfast-Amsterdam, with a codeshare with
British Airways on the Heathrow flight and
KLM on the Amsterdam flight. Aer Lingus also announced further destinations out of Belfast including Rome, Barcelona, Faro, Malaga, Geneva and Budapest. Flights to
Amsterdam,
Barcelona and
Geneva begin on
10th December, flights to
Heathrow begin on
14th January, and the remaining routes will begin on
25th February.
[14]
According to an article in the Irish Independent newspaper
[2] on September 1, 2007, Aer Lingus is "reviewing" its flights to Dubai and is likely to axe the Middle East route next summer in favour of US routes.
Fleet
Current Fleet
The Aer Lingus fleet consists of the following aircraft as of July 2007
[15]:
In August 2007, the average age of the Aer Lingus fleet was 5.1 years.
Aer Lingus recently received delivery of the A330-200 and A330-300 that they ordered in February 2006. The company will use these long-haul aircraft to increase flights between Ireland and existing U.S. destinations, along with its Dubai route during the Summer months, and to start new routes to the U.S. in the Autumn.
With the arrival of two new A330 Aircraft, Aer Lingus has announced the following increases in long-haul frequencies for Summer 2007:
★ Dublin to New York will operate a double daily non-stop service. Shannon to New York will operate a daily service.
★ Boston will increase from eleven flights per week to two flights daily, one non-stop service from Dublin and a second from Dublin via Shannon.
★ Chicago will increase from a daily flight to two flights daily, one non-stop from Dublin and the second from Dublin via Shannon, representing a new daily direct service from Shannon.
★ Dublin to Los Angeles will increase from five services weekly to a daily service.
★ Dublin to Dubai will increase from three flights weekly to four flights.
Aer Lingus also received delivery of two further A320s in May 2007. Two more A320s are due to be delivered in December 2007 on a lease basis. These aircraft will allow Aer Lingus to expand its short-haul network across Europe and into Africa.
On
13 March 2007, Aer Lingus announced in a press conference on its preliminary results that the airline had made Requests For Proposals to Boeing and Airbus for the 787 Dreamliner and the A350XWB, and intends to make an order for 14 long haul aircraft in Q2 2007.
On
20 May 2007, The Sunday Times reported that Aer Lingus have entered into exclusive talks with Airbus for the renewal of its long haul fleet, after evaluating the Airbus A350XWB against the Boeing 787.
On 6th June 2007 Aer Lingus announced the purchase of 6 A330-300E aircraft for delivery from 2009 and the purchase of 6 of the new Airbus A350XWB currently in development with deliveries beginning from 2014. By 2014 Aer Lingus says that it will have doubled its long-haul fleet.
Retired fleet
Transatlantic fleet
★
Boeing 707-320 1964-1986
★
Boeing 720 1960-1971
★
Boeing 747-100 1971-1995
★
Boeing 767-300ER 1991-1994
★
Lockheed Constellation 1948 (AerlÃnte Éireann)
★
Lockheed Super Constellation 1958-1960
★
Lockheed L-1011 TriStar Summer 1989 leased from
American Trans Air and again in 1996-1998, leased from
Caledonian Airways
★
McDonnell Douglas MD-11 1998-2001, leased several times from
World Airways
European and commuter fleet
★
Aviation Traders Carvair 1963-1968
★
BAC 1-11 1965-1990
★
BAe 146-300 1995-2003
★
Boeing 737-200 1969-1992
★
Boeing 737-300 1987-1993
★
Boeing 737-400 1989-2005
★
Boeing 737-500 1990-2005
★
de Havilland DH.84 Dragon 1936-1938
★
de Havilland DH.86 Express 1936-1946
★
de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide 1938-1940
★
Douglas DC-3 1940-1964
★
Fokker F27 1958-1966
★
Fokker 50 1989-2001
★
Lockheed Super Electra 1939-1940
★
Saab 340 1991-1995
★
Shorts 330 1983
★
Shorts 360 1984-1991
★
Vickers Viking 1947
★
Vickers Viscount 700 1954-1960
★
Vickers Viscount 800 1957-1973
Gold Circle Club
Aer Lingus features its own frequent flyer programme, known as the "Gold Circle Club" programme. There are 3 tiers - Gold, Prestige and Elite.
'Gold Level (coded as 'GOLD' on boarding passes):'
★ Access to the Gold Circle Lounge.
★ 'Requires 2,400 points accumulation', earned in the past 12 months travelling on Aer Lingus scheduled services.
'Prestige Level (coded as 'GPPP' on boarding passes):'
★ Access to the Gold Circle Lounge.
★ Priority Check-In.
★ 'Requires 4,800 points accumulation', earned in the past 12 months travelling on Aer Lingus scheduled services.
'Elite Level (coded as 'GXXX' on boarding passes):'
★ Access to the Gold Circle Lounge.
★ Priority Check-In.
★ Priority baggage delivery on Transatlantic / Dubai flights.
★ Four complimentary upgrades.
★ Gold Membership for partner.
★ Guaranteed reservation until 24 hours before departure.
★ 'Requires 8,400 points accumulation', earned in the past 12 months travelling on Aer Lingus scheduled services.
'Bank of Ireland VISA Gold Card:'
Bank of Ireland and Aer Lingus came together to form the 'Bank of Ireland VISA Gold Card'. The card is issued by Bank of Ireland. Any passengers who holds such card is entitled access to the Gold Circle Lounge, however does not get point accumulation for any Aer Lingus flights nor any priority boarding or baggage handling.
Incidents and accidents
Aer Lingus has suffered 8 major incidents in its history, 7 accidents which left planes written-off, of which 3 were fatal, and 1 hijacking. The last such incident happened 20 years ago, in 1986, when a
Shorts 360 hit high-tension power lines after rolling.
In January 1952, a
Douglas DC-3 en route from
Northolt to
Dublin suffered from extreme turbulence and crashed at Gwynant Lake in
Snowdonia killing all 20 passengers and 3 crew on board.
A pilot training flight in 1967 left all three crew on board a
Vickers Viscount dead after stalling and spinning in-air near
Ashbourne.
In 1968 a Viscount aircraft en route from
Cork to
London crashed near
Tuskar Rock in the waters off the southeast coast of Ireland. All 57 passengers and four crew perished. The crash is generally known as the
Tuskar Rock Air Disaster in Ireland. The aircraft's elevator trim tab was found some distance from the rest of the wreckage, suggesting that it had become detached at an earlier stage. However, the accident report reached no definitive conclusion about the cause of the crash, but notably failed to exclude the possibility that another "aircraft or airborne object" was involved. Following persistent rumours that the aircraft's demise was linked with nearby British military exercises, a review of the case files by the
Air Accidents Investigation Unit took place in 1998. This review identified a number of maintenance and record-keeping failures and concluded that the original report failed to adequately examine alternative hypotheses not involving other aircraft
[3]. A subsequent investigation
[4] concluded that the accident happened following a structural failure of the port tailplane, and ruled out the possibility that another aircraft was involved.
In 2005,
Aer Lingus Flight 132 almost collided with another jet aircraft on the runway at
Logan International Airport. The Aer Lingus aircraft was cleared for takeoff from runway 15R, and five seconds later, at 19:39:15, US Airways flight 1170 was cleared to takeoff from runway 9. These runways intersect each other at Logan Airport. Due to the intersection of both runways, the aircraft had essentially been sent on a collision course. During the take-off roll, the US Airways First Officer noticed the other plane and realized that they were going to collide. Some evasive action was taken, and the two planes passed within 170 feet of each other, with the Aer Lingus aircraft flying over the US Airways Aircraft. Shortly thereafter, the US Airways flight continued down the runway and took off safely.
Flying with Aer Lingus
On Aer Lingus' long-haul flights (Transatlantic and to Dubai), there are 2 classes of service: Premier Class and Economy.
'Economy' seats include a maximum seat pitch of 31". Older aircrafts (e.g. reg. EI-LAX, EI-EWR) has no IFE systems per seat, newly renovated aircraft (e.g. reg. EI-DAA) features the standard "Cara" IFE system and on newer aircrafts (reg. EI-DUO), economy seats includes a new ergonomic-designed seats with advance-IFE system, which features "Audio/Video-On-Demand" (AVOD) as well as universal laptop power ports per each pair seats. Non-alcoholic beverages and snacks are complimentary for this service, whilst alcoholic beverages will need to be purchased, corresponding meals are provided depending on flight time.
'Premier Class' is the Aer Lingus' First/Business-hybrid Class. The Premier Class seat has a maximum seat pitch of 52"/20" seat width. Complimentary meals and drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic). All seats feature universal laptop power ports and "Cara" IFE system on older aircrafts. Newer aircrafts feature the "lie-flat seats" as well as the advance-IFE system featuring "Audio/Video-On-Demand" (AVOD). All Premier gourmet meals are served on custom made Waterford Crystal and Wedgwood China.
As Aer Lingus no longer provide First Class services on any of its flights, Premier Class can be said to be the traditional Business Class as its booking code for this class is 'J', Economy Class has a booking code of 'Y'.
Other activities
From 1965 to 1997, Aer Lingus sponsored the
Aer Lingus Young Scientist Exhibition. The event was taken over by
BT Ireland amid claims that it was part of a cost cutting plan by Aer Lingus, though the airline claimed that the exhibition no longer represented the airline's aims.
See also
★
List of Irish companies
References
1. Aer Lingus to quit Oneworld alliance
2. The Encyclopaedia of Ireland, , Brian (ed), Lalor, Gill & Macmillan, 2003,
3. http://www.rte.ie/business/2005/1027/aerlingus.html
4. http://www.rte.ie/business/2006/0817/aerlingus.html?rss
5. http://www.rte.ie/business/2005/1111/shannon.html
6. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5408780.stm
7. http://www.rte.ie/business/2006/1005/ryanair.html?rss
8. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5412002.stm
9. http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=9&si=1732187&issue_id=14940
10. http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8M4T5I01.htm
11. Ryanair's Aer Lingus bid blocked
12. RTÉ News/aerlingus.html?rss
13. Belfast International Airport
14. http://www.rte.ie/business/2007/0807/aerlingus.html?rss
15. Aer Lingus Media
★
The Flight Of The Iolar : The Aer Lingus Experience 1936-1986, , Bernard, Share, Gill And Macmillan, 1986, ISBN 0-7171-1457-0
★
Pioneers in Flight: Aer Lingus and the Story of Aviation in Ireland, , Niall G., Weldon, The Liffey Press, 2002, ISBN 1-904148-21-2
External links
★
Aer Lingus
★
Aer Lingus Fleet
★
Aer Lingus Fleet Age
★
Aer Lingus Fleet and Orders
★
Photos of Aer Lingus aircraft
★
Videos of Aer Lingus Aircraft
★
Gold Circle Club Details
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